Michael Fertik may be running a business, but by the time new customers are knocking on his door, things have turned decidedly personal. “People send us letters that say, ‘You saved my life,'” says the CEO of Reputation.com, pointing to the dramatic ways in which a person’s virtual reputation can shape their day-to-day routine
Tag Archives: business
A Brief History of Stockholm Syndrome
Time and again during the 18 harrowing years she allegedly spent in captivity, Jaycee Lee Dugard must have had the chance to cry for help. She assisted her alleged abductor, Phillip Garrido, with his home business, sorting out orders by phone or e-mail.
Record Store Day: Ten Great American Record Shops
This Saturday, April 16, is the fourth annual Record Store Day, when around 700 independent record shops across the country celebrate their continued existence as a cultural institution. Some will have sales, giveaways, performances and signings; upwards of 200 different limited-edition vinyl records and CDs will be appearing on their racks, too.
Africa’s Star? New Hope for Nigeria
On a visit to Nigeria eight years ago, Felix Ekundayo spotted what he thought was the perfect business opportunity.
10 Questions for Tim McGraw
He’s a country-music megastar whose tour with wife Faith Hill was one of 2006’s biggest moneymakers. He’s also a doting husband and dad who has vowed never to spend more than two nights away from Hill and their three young girls.
LUCKY LUCIANO: Criminal Mastermind
He was born and died in Italy, yet the influence on America of a grubby street urchin named Salvatore Lucania ranged from the lights of Broadway to every level of law enforcement, from national politics to the world economy.
The Sum of Two Evils
After months of recovering from an attempt on his life that put eight bullets in his left side, Uday Hussein, the eldest son of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, was ready to party. At his first outing in 1998, at the posh Jadriyah Equestrian Club, he used high-powered binoculars to survey the crowd of friends and family from a platform high above the guests.
Kidnapped Bikers: Is Lebanon Being Sucked Into Regional Unrest?
The recent abduction of seven Estonian tourists on a cycling holiday has revived memories of darker times and stirred fears that the unrest sweeping the Arab world may be spilling into Lebanon. Neighboring Syria is experiencing its most serious bout of internal unrest in decades, spurring a violent crackdown by the authorities who blame the anti-regime protests on “foreign conspirators.” The abduction of the Estonian tourists has left many Lebanese gloomily predicting that Lebanon cannot avoid being sucked into the vortex of its influential neighbor’s domestic crisis.
Banking: How to clone Switzerland
Several years ago, executives with Singapore’s major private banks came to the government with an enviable problem.
Kevin O’Leary, TV’s ‘Shark Tank’ Guru: In Real Life, No Business Whiz
Kevin O’Leary stars on ABC’s new business reality show Shark Tank as one of five executives who vet business ideas pitched by would-be entrepreneurs. O’Leary often delivers the harshest of the business critiques